A Jersey City man was arrested in North Bergen after a
haphazard attempt to elude police ended in a foot chase and discovery of
the illegal drug crystal meth, reports said.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, a North Bergen police officer patrolling
the area of 43rd Street and Bergen Turnpike saw Michael Bess, 31,
run a red light in his 2004 Lexus, reports said.

When the officer turned to follow Bess, he saw the 31-year-old
double-parked halfway down the block, and pulled up behind Bess with his lights
and sirens activated, reports said.

The police report said that Bess glanced into his rearview
mirror before "peeling out," and driving another block down the road before he
stopped the car and fled on foot near 44th Street.

While calling for backup, the officer got out of his car and
ran down the street after Bess, repeatedly yelling "Police! Stop!" but Bess
continued to run and didn't stop until the police officer tackled him on a
sidewalk, reports said.

Bess struggled with the officer and resisted being handcuffed until more police arrived,
reports said.

During the struggle, a small plastic bag containing 10 white
pills -- later identified as
crystal meth -- had fallen out of Bess's pocket, reports said.

Bess gave permission for a K-9 unit to search his vehicle,
but no additional drugs were found, reports said.

Bess was charged with eluding an officer, hindering
apprehension, manufacturing or distributing a controlled dangerous substance
(CDS), possession of CDS near or on school property, possession of CDS within
500 feet of a park, possession of CDS and resisting arrest, police said.

Bess appeared in Central Judicial Processing court via videolink from Hudson County jail this afternoon and his bail was set at $25,000 cash or bond.

He was also issued four traffic
summonses for failure to observe signal, reckless driving, abandonment of motor
vehicle, and possession of CDS in a motor vehicle.